The RAF&39;s Gloster Meteor was the first and only operational Allied jet fighter to actually enter combat in WWII. In March 1943, a jet prototype designed by the Gloster company and equipped with a De Havilland H.1 engine made its first successful test flight. In July of 1944, pilots flying the first production version of the Meteor, the F.1 fighter, fought bravely in the Battle of Britain under the No. 616 Squadron. The F.1 housed two Rolls-Royce Welland jet engines capable of taking the fighter to speeds of 668km/h and was relatively successful in defending the British homeland against German V-1 rockets. The F.1 was later replaced by the improved F.3 version with its Rolls Royce Derwent engines, changed canopy style, and increased fuel capacity.
